Gundam Wing II
by inu-washa
Summary: A story me and my sis made but never finished so read and review!!! ^_^
1. Default Chapter

Gundam Wing II  
  
I'm not making money from this and these are not my characters. Special thanks to the creators of Heero, Trowa, Duo, Wu Fei, Quatre. Sandy is my own character.  
  
Luke, Leia, Han, and company all belong to George Lucas.  
  
Inu-washa: well peoples this is a whirred fic that my sister and I made but never finished! @_@ rei: I think there getting tired of your talking. *_* jordo: read!!!!!! $_$  
  
  
  
The young tech sat bored, watching the screen. In joining Cayman Space Co., he had hoped for a little more excitement. But the only thing to watch on the screen was space dust. Suddenly, a large shape came on the view screen. Several lights started to flash, and the computer was going nuts trying to get adequate data on the unknown object. The tech stared at the screen for a while, then pressed a communication button.  
  
"Hello, this Tech Officer Matthews. Is anyone there?"  
  
"Hello Officer. This is 45-DK. Sending recognition code."  
  
What? Matthews frowned as a series of unknown letters and numbers. Matthews grabbed his walkie-talkie. "Uh, someone get down here, quick!"  
  
15 years later…  
  
A young mother busily typed e-mail messages on the family's computer, as two rambunctious three-year-olds jumped on her bed.  
  
"Duo! Come get the twins, will you!" she shouted.  
  
Duo came in grinning, scooped up the kids, who screamed and shouted with delight.  
  
"Park daddy! Park!" one demanded.  
  
"Not today." Duo answered. "Daddy's busy today. Besides it's going to rain."  
  
"Humph." The little boy crossed his arms, and he and his twin sister left the room.  
  
Duo sighed and sat on the bed. "I can't decide whether they take after you or me."  
  
"You." His wife answered. "Definitely you."  
  
"Thanks." Duo got up, and walked towards the door. "Oh, by the way, Wu Fei and Sally are coming for dinner."  
  
"Good." Hilde answered. "That'll make a full guest list. Can you run down to the store- wait, never mind. I'll go." Shutting off the e-mail program, she got up.  
  
"If Quatre calls, tell him we don't need anything." She said as she left.  
  
* * *  
  
Sandy cleared her throat for the third time. Without looking up, Trowa asked, "Some thing stuck?"  
  
Sandy rolled her eyes. "No. Have you forgotten something?"  
  
Trowa looked up from the electrical job he was doing. "No."  
  
Sandy sighed. "We're having dinner at the Maxwell's tonight, sweetie."  
  
Trowa frowned. "I don't remember."  
  
"You never do." Sandy said dryly. "Come get ready. You can finish that later."  
  
"Hmm." Trowa answered, engrossed in his work. Sandy crossed her arms.  
  
"Trowa."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"My head's on fire." She said, testing him. "See the flames?"  
  
"Yeah, nice."  
  
Sandy tried a different approach.  
  
"My parents are coming over tonight."  
  
"Hmm. What!" Trowa snapped his head up. Sandy grinned.  
  
"Come and take a shower." She said. "Now!"  
  
* * *  
  
Quatre grinned at the screen showing Duo. "Are you sure Hilde told you to say that?"  
  
"Yes." Duo smiled innocently.  
  
Quatre gave him an I-don't-believe-you look.  
  
"Come on, Quatre. It would be fun."  
  
"For you or for Hilde?"  
  
Duo frowned and sighed. "Okay, forget it. Just come, okay? The kids keep asking about you."  
  
"That's nice. I'm glad they remember me." Quatre said, and shot a look at the remaining paper work on his desk, then sighed.  
  
"Hard day?" Duo asked.  
  
"Nooo." Quatre answered slowly. "Just seems that all these papers my father had keep popping up. I never seem to get rid of them."  
  
"That's life."  
  
"Yeah." Quatre brushed his hair away from his eyes. "Dorothy's been acting weird lately."  
  
"Weird?"  
  
"Weird." Quatre stopped talking as Annie, his secretary poked her head in.  
  
"Your wife's here." She whispered.  
  
"I gotta go. Dorothy's here." Quatre said.  
  
"Okay. See you tonight."  
  
"See you."  
  
Duo disappeared, and Dorothy came in, looking rather pale, but very calm. No, calm wasn't the right word, Quatre decided. Her face was glowing. Dorothy sat down and smiled at him.  
  
"Hi." She said softly.  
  
"Hi." Quatre answered. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Yeah." Dorothy bit her lip. "I need to tell you something."  
  
"What." Quatre said, becoming a little nervous.  
  
"I went to see the doctor today."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Dorothy looked down at her hands, back at her husband, then at the desktop.  
  
"Dorothy?" Quatre asked. She looked up, tears in her eyes.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked, standing up and coming to kneel by her chair.  
  
"Nothing's wrong." She swallowed and smiled at him. "We're going to be parents."  
  
* * *  
  
Sarah solemnly watched her father as he typed on the computer.  
  
"How do you do it so fast?" the four-year old wanted to know.  
  
"Hmm?" Chang Wu Fei looked at his daughter, realizing she was there for the first time.  
  
"How do you do it so fast?" she repeated.  
  
"Practice." He answered, then shut down the program. "Where's your mother?"  
  
"Getting ready."  
  
"Sarah!" Sally called.  
  
"Coming." The little girl ran out. Sally appeared in the doorway.  
  
"It's four-thirty-nine." She said. "The Maxwell's expect us at five."  
  
"All right." Wu Fei answered. "I'm coming."  
  
* * *  
  
Duo looked around the room. Quatre was on the couch with the twins and Sarah, telling a story. Hilde was standing in the kitchen doorway, talking with Sally and Relena.  
  
Heero, Trowa, and Wu Fei were talking about computers. Dorothy and Sandy were laughing about something. He grinned to himself. It was nice to get together.  
  
"Hey Sandy." He said. "Haven't seen you for a while."  
  
"Been busy." She answered. "My husband is a full time job." She added jokingly.  
  
"How are you Dorothy?" Duo asked. Dorothy smiled softly.  
  
"I'm fine." She said.  
  
"Duo." Hilde called. "I need your help in here."  
  
"Coming." He walked into the kitchen.  
  
"Have you talked to Dorothy yet?" he asked.  
  
"No." Hilde said, pouring a bag of chips into a bowl. "Why?"  
  
"She looks kind of pale. She's got circles under her eyes." Duo silently recounted the hamburgers he had to grill.  
  
"I'll talk to her." Hilde promised. The door opened, and Relena came in.  
  
"Can I help?" she asked.  
  
"Yes!" Hilde said. "Take the drinks out, will you?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
* * *  
  
Sarah tugged on Wu Fei's arm. "Daddy."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Uncle Duo said that you didn't like mommy when you first met her."  
  
Wu Fei frowned.  
  
"I need to talk to Uncle Duo."  
  
Heero hid a grin. "C'mere Sarah. Let's go outside."  
  
* * *  
  
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Sandy asked.  
  
Trowa nodded, then looked at his wife of three months in some confusion. "I thought we were having your parents over tonight."  
  
Sandy just about choked on a mouth full of soda.  
  
* * *  
  
The three kids had been fed, then shut in the playroom. The adults had begun to fix their plates.  
  
"Boy they are bouncing off the walls." Duo said to Heero.  
  
"Literally." Heero commented as there was a bump! on the wall.  
  
"How have you been?" Hilde asked Dorothy.  
  
"Oh, okay. I've been kinda sick lately."  
  
"That's too bad." Hilde paused. She didn't know Dorothy very well, and wasn't quite sure what to say.  
  
Quatre came over. "Excuse me." He said. "I need my wife for a moment."  
  
Hilde smiled. "That's okay."  
  
Sandy sighed next to her.  
  
"What's wrong?" Hilde asked.  
  
"Her hair."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Sandy shook her head. "Nothing. I just wonder how she gets her hair so perfect."  
  
Trowa overheard her and said, "Nothing's wrong with yours."  
  
Sandy smiled. "I know." She rolled her eyes at Hilde, who giggled.  
  
The three children burst out of the playroom, making flying and shooting noises.  
  
"Hey," Duo said, "Back in your room Ter, Tom."  
  
"I'm not Tom." The little boy said. "I'm Deathsythe. Boom!"  
  
"I'm Sandrock." Terry said.  
  
"You can't, you're a girl." Tom told her. Terry stuck her tongue out at him. Duo stood up, and guided the twins back to the room. Hilde smiled at Sarah, who still stood in the dining room.  
  
"What are you, Sarah?" she asked.  
  
"Nataku." The little girl answered, then ran back to the playroom. Wu Fei smiled to himself. Duo came back and sat down again. The meal was a pleasant one, though the parents had to get up more than once to settle the children down. Near the end, Quatre stood up and cleared his throat.  
  
"Um, I have an announcement." He said, then looked at Dorothy. "Do you…?"  
  
Dorothy shook her head.  
  
"Okay." Quatre blew out a breath. "Um, we're, a, we're going to have a baby."  
  
There was a short pause.  
  
"Oh my gosh!" Hilde exclaimed. Relena gave Dorothy a hug.  
  
"Congratulations." Duo said.  
  
"Yeah." Heero looked at Trowa and Wu Fei. "You guys want to add something?"  
  
"Don't ask questions about her diet." Wu Fei advised Quatre quietly.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just trust me."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The next day, Quatre was looking through some papers that had been old reports from a small scientific corporation that his father had, for some reason, backed. Most of the reports were usual; nothing particularly striking. But as Quatre read a few of the last ones, he found some thing very interesting.  
  
He set the reports down, and paged Annie.  
  
"Annie, can you find a Richard Matthews? He was a tech officer for Cayman Space Corporation about fifteen years ago."  
  
* * *  
  
"Cayman Space Corporation?" a graying, slightly overweight man chuckled to himself. "That's a name I haven't heard for years. What's a youngin' like you want to know about it?"  
  
Quatre smiled, inwardly amused at being called a "youngin'". "My father backed it for several years I believe."  
  
"I see." Richard Matthews blew out a breath. "Can't see what you would want with it. It went out of business years ago."  
  
"I chiefly want to know about several reports filed by you, actually." Quatre slid a folder towards the man. Richard frowned in concentration as he paged through them.  
  
"I remember this." He finally said. "It was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen. A great big ship. Must've taken at least two thousand to crew it. But it was only piloted by computers and robots; which were far superior to ours, I can tell you. But I only got the bare technical read out. To learn more, you have to find the scientists and engineers who went over it. I wasn't allowed to know about that."  
  
"Do you know their names?" Quatre asked.  
  
"Some. There was Rosalind Gonzalez. She's living on Earth, somewhere in Colorado, I think. Mike Hatch was the main engineer. He died a couple of years ago though; stroke. Um, let's see. Who's still left? Sam Goodwin lives in the L-4 colony. Connie Hatch is still alive; she worked with her husband. I think she's in L-3. Corrine and Isaiah Wiess. They live in Germany."  
  
* * *  
  
Quatre hurried home, inwardly a little guilty that he was almost half an hour late for dinner. He and Annie had been trying to track down the names Mattews had left them, and business had interrupted from time to time. It had been Annie who had called his attention to the time. He had got home as quickly as he could.  
  
He opened the door to the apartment he and Dorothy shared. She wasn't at the sitting room, or the sitting at the table. He looked in the bedroom.  
  
"Dorothy?" he called. Nobody home. He frowned. That was odd.  
  
* * *  
  
"Coming!" Relena went and opened the door. "Heero!"  
  
"Uh, hi." He said.  
  
"Hi." Relena answered. "Come in?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Relena led the way to the tiny living room, where they both sat down.  
  
"How are you?" she asked.  
  
"Uh, okay." Heero answered. "Um, I was wondering-" he was interrupted by the telephone.  
  
"Oh, just a minute." Relena picked it up. "Hello…yeah, I'm here…Uh, no I haven't…Are you sure?…Maybe she's at Sandy's…No…Yeah, I'll do that…Heero's here…No, he probably wouldn't…Okay, just a minute." Relena turned to Heero. "Have you seen Dorothy?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Relena repeated the question. Heero shook his head. Relena frowned, then put the phone up to her ear.  
  
"He hasn't…I didn't think so…Have you checked every where…Yeah it is weird…You want help?…Okay…No, it's no problem…Okay, see you there…Yeah, bye."  
  
Relena put the phone down.  
  
"Dorothy's gone?" Heero guessed.  
  
Relena nodded. "That's not like her. Quatre's going to the Park to look for her; she likes to walk there. She's not answering her phone, so she could've fallen or something. I volunteered us to help."  
  
"Okay." Heero said. "Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
Sandy frowned in concern as she hung up the phone. Quatre had called again, just to make sure. Trowa appeared in the doorway, his face a little red. Sandy sighed. One person made Trowa uncomfortable: her father, Will. It's not that he wasn't nice, but he was rather brusque and hard around the edges. And he seemed to know how to get reactions from Trowa.  
  
"You surviving?" she asked. Trowa nodded. Sandy handed him a basket of rolls to take to the table. She knew that part of the problem was that she had married Trowa on one of the colonies, then had come to Earth to introduce him to her friends and family. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, it might've been better to wait, she thought. Her mother Margaret came in.  
  
"Need any help, honey?" she asked. Sandy smiled thinly.  
  
"No, mom." Sandy picked up a pitcher of ice water. "We're ready."  
  
* * *  
  
It had almost been three months since Dorothy's disappearance, and there had been no word at all. The group had seen little of Quatre, and what they had seen wasn't good, Duo thought, as he hunted for the dairy aisle in the super market. Quatre had become much paler, much thinner, and much older than he had been. Duo sighed, grabbed two gallons of milk, and headed to the bakery to get some bread.  
  
* * *  
  
Quatre looked up from his desk as Annie came in.  
  
"There's someone here to see you." She said. "A Dr. and Mrs. Isaiah Wiess."  
  
Quatre frowned. Where had he heard that name?  
  
"Go ahead and send them in." he said.  
  
A few minutes later, Isaiah and Corrine Wiess had joined them. Isaiah Wiess was about average height, broad-shouldered, and undeniably good – looking. His graying hair was once a dark blonde and he had friendly hazel eyes.  
  
Corrine Wiess was pretty, with a curvy figure, long white-blonde hair, laughing blue eyes, dimples, and a ready smile. They introduced themselves, and Quatre invited them to sit.  
  
"You wanted to see me?" Quatre asked.  
  
"Actually," Corrine said. "We were told that you wanted to see us. Richard Matthews got in contact with us."  
  
It clicked. Isaiah and Corrine had been an engineer and an archeologist who had investigated the strange ship that had showed up suddenly.  
  
"Uh, yes, I did." Quatre told them. At least I did three months ago. He added silently.  
  
"It was about Aperen, wasn't it?" Isaiah asked.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Aperen. It was what we named the ship." Isaiah explained. "It's an Medieval English word for appear."  
  
"Oh." Quatre said. "Yes I did want to ask you about it. I don't really have any set questions…"  
  
"Oh, that's all right." Corrine smiled. "I love to talk, and can probably tell you every thing I know."  
  
"Good." Quatre said, somewhat relieved.  
  
"Let's see." Corrine mused. "It was about fifteen years ago when it was first sighted. It took a couple of months to determine no life aboard the ship, then to pull it in and land it. Then Aperen was placed in quarantine for another four months. We didn't start working on it right away. Rosalind called us. She knew Isaiah at grade school and thought that he might be interested in it. We came and that's when things got interesting."  
  
// "You see here." Rosalind said with her thick Spanish accent. Isaiah bent over.  
  
"Interesting." He said. Corrine bent over as well.  
  
"Oh, looks like something got shot out." She looked at Rosalind. "Did you pick up any escape pods?"  
  
"No. We didn't detect anything at all." Rosalind frowned. "We've just begun work two days ago. Actually, I'm surprised you got here so fast." //  
  
"So something had definitely been shot out?" Quatre asked. Corrine and Isaiah nodded in unison.  
  
"There were burn marks on the seals." Isaiah explained. "I don't know about most of the system; that's the wife's department, but I'd say something had been shot out and under a lot of stress."  
  
"And you agree with him?" Quatre asked Corrine.  
  
"Oh yes."  
  
"Didn't you tell anyone?"  
  
Corrine frowned. "Well, yes. We told Rosalind and a few others, but we got no response."  
  
"We asked, or rather, Corrine asked Rosa about it a few days later, but she wouldn't give us a conclusive answer. It wasn't till after we left the project that we found out that hardly any of the staff had been notified." Isaiah paused to take a breath, as if he was not used to speaking so much.  
  
"It was weird." Corrine took up the story. "Whenever we mentioned it, people would look at us weird. They were covering it up for some reason."  
  
"But you didn't know why?"  
  
"Well," Corrine sighed. "I first thought that it might have had something to do with the whole war and all that. Every one was busy, and this might not be as important as survival."  
  
"War?" Isaiah asked.  
  
"Go back to sleep dear." Corrine said, then went on. "Rosa was troubled about it. Here," she grabbed a pen and a business card out of her purse. "I'll give you the number of my daughter's. That's where we're staying. Rosa is with us."  
  
She handed him the card, then she and her husband stood up to leave. Quatre stood as well.  
  
"Thank you very much." He said.  
  
"You're welcome." Corrine said. Then they both left. Quatre sat, and looked at the card thoughtfully.  
  
* * *  
  
Dorothy sat in her "cell". It was really more like a motel room, only no windows. It had been a nice change than what she had been in; a little metal room that was four steps from wall to door and three from wall to wall. She placed her hands on a now very swollen stomach. Sometimes she would talk to the unborn baby, to keep from going insane. Quatre would've laughed at her, but – that thought brought a stab of pain in her heart. Quatre didn't know where she was. He would be worried, most likely blame himself. She closed her eyes and tried not to cry.  
  
* * *  
  
Hilde put up balloons. It was the twins fourth birthday, and as usual, everybody was coming over. She had sent Duo out for some emergency groceries, not sure if that was the brightest idea in the world. The door opened, and Heero came in, with a few bottles of soda and two presents. Hilde climbed down from the ladder, and greeted him with a smiled.  
  
"Hey!" she said, taking the soda. "Presents go over by the TV."  
  
Heero complied.  
  
"You're awful early." Hilde commented as she continued tacking balloons to the ceiling.  
  
"Yeah well." Heero shrugged. "Where's Duo."  
  
"At the super market."  
  
Heero cocked an eyebrow. "You actually let him go all by himself?"  
  
"Yeah, I know." Hilde moved the ladder to a different spot. "But I needed to finish the cake, and the decorations. Plus the kids' presents weren't wrapped."  
  
"Want help?" Heero asked.  
  
"Yeah." She gave him a huge paper chain. "Tack this around the dining room, will you?"  
  
* * *  
  
"When can we open presents?" Terry asked. Duo looked at his watch.  
  
"Soon." He promised.  
  
"Where's Uncle Quatre?" Tommy demanded. "He said he would come."  
  
"I'm sure he's on his way." Duo said, then sighed as the twins went to go see what Sarah was doing.  
  
"Where's Quatre?" Trowa asked, walking up behind him.  
  
"That's the question of the hour." Duo commented dryly. "He's just a little late. Maybe had extra office work."  
  
"Maybe he heard something about Dorothy." Trowa said.  
  
"I hope so."  
  
* * *  
  
Quatre parked, then grabbed two gift bags. What was it about him being late all the time? After the Wiess's had left, he had sat in thought for a while, then realized how late it was. He quickly moved up the short stone walkway, and knocked on the Maxwell's door. Hilde opened it.  
  
"Quatre!" she opened the screen and gave him a hug. "Good to see you. Come on in!"  
  
He walked into the living room. "Hi."  
  
Relena looked up from the piano. "Did you bring your violin?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, it's in the car."  
  
The twins and Sarah came racing down the stairs, shouting "Uncle Quatre!"  
  
"Hey!" he laughed as the bowled into him. "Don't smash the presents."  
  
"Can we open 'em now Daddy?" Terry asked. Duo looked at Hilde.  
  
"I guess we can have cake afterwards." She amended.  
  
"Yay!" The twins shouted.  
  
* * *  
  
Sally came and sat down next to Quatre as the excited four-year-olds ripped their gifts open.  
  
"Hi." She said. Quatre nodded.  
  
"How have you been?" Sally asked.  
  
"As well as can be expected, I guess." He answered. "Why?"  
  
"I'm wondering if you're ready for a shock."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, the Preventer's intelligence unit thinks they may have found Dorothy's former whereabouts."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Like I said a shock." Sally smiled. "Come over tomorrow. I'm off work, and we can talk."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Rei: that was soooo sad !!!!!!!!!!! *_* jordo: that was rely sad!!!!!!!$_$ inu-washa: it's so post to !!! @_@ Rei: revue!!! #_# 


	2. guandam wing II

Gundam wing II  
  
inu-washa: well my sis finely got around to finding more of this story so here it is.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own gundamwing and star wars belongs to Mr. Lucas.  
  
Breian looked at the two cringing workers in front of him.  
  
"So, let me get this straight." He said. "You caught the wrong person."  
  
"No!" Wen Verris, a Twi'lek said. "It wasn't our fault. We are only the couriers." His partner, a not so intelligent Gammorean nodded its piggy face in agreement. Berian sighed.  
  
"I'm going to have to tell the boss, you know." He said.  
  
The Gammorean paled. Wen didn't even blink an eye. "As long as you tell him that we had to deal with incompetent humans." He commented stiffly. As they left the office, Wen turned. "I still expect to be paid for my trouble. It's not my fault that we got the wrong girl."  
  
* * *  
  
Berian hesitated just outside of the "Boss'" office. Apparently he had a guest, and Salir Klinaar disliked being interrupted.  
  
When he entered, Klinaar was seated at his large desk in his huge and very comfortable office. A woman in middle age, though she looked younger, was seated in a couch/bench near the middle of the room. They both looked up as Berian entered the room.  
  
"Sorry for interrupting you sir." He said, putting on the face of an anxious-to-help office assistant. "But there's something that needs your immediate attention. A cargo went wrong."  
  
Klinaar put his cigar in an ashtray. "Of course," he said smoothly and stood. "Madame President, if you would excuse me?"  
  
"Of course." The woman said.  
  
"Thank you." Klinaar and Berian left the room. The President looked at her assistant, Winter, who stood in a corner of the room, face expressionless. When the two men left the room, Winter came and sat beside her.  
  
"I don't like him." Winter said. Leia Solo, also known as the president of the New Republic, shrugged.  
  
"He's a bit slimy, but most of his sort are." She sighed. "I'm just glad we'll be out of here by tonight, and I'll be home in time to greet Luke and Mara, and in time for Anakin's birthday."  
  
"I'll be able to see Tycho too." Winter mused. "If that's all right."  
  
Leia chuckled. "Of course it is." She looked at her lifetime friend and companion. "You really ought to get married you know."  
  
Winter smiled tentatively back and shrugged. "We never seem to be able to work it out."  
  
"Partly my fault." Leia smiled wryly. "Well, we'll just have to give you time off when we get back to Coruscant."  
  
* * *  
  
Quatre checked the card again, and knocked on the door. It was opened by a tall, slender woman with dark blonde hair and blue eyes.  
  
"Can I help you?" she asked cautiously.  
  
"I'm Quatre Winner." He said. "I think your parents were expecting me."  
  
"Oh!" she smiled. "I remember. But they're not here right now."  
  
"I see." Quatre answered. "I'll come back later."  
  
"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?" she asked.  
  
"Sure." Quatre said. The smiled returned to her face.  
  
"Okay." She stuck out her hand.  
  
"Thanks." Quatre said. "Mrs. ?"  
  
"Miss Katherine Wiess." She answered, shaking his hand. "See you tonight."  
  
"Right."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Sally fumed inwardly as she cleaned blue chalk off of her antique writing desk. Sarah had been suitably punished, and then sent to her room. Sally had no idea what had possessed her usually well-behaved daughter to do this. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.  
  
"Door's open!" she called. Quatre stuck his head around the wall.  
  
"Hi." He looked at her blue covered hands, wet rag, and the desk. "Trouble?"  
  
Sally smiled. "No, Sarah just decided that we needed to redecorate."  
  
Quatre tried not to laugh. Sally saw him, and smiled, shaking her head. "I guess I shouldn't be so up tight about it." She said. "Go ahead and sit, I'll be there in a sec."  
  
* * *  
  
Leia and Winter walked quickly across the hanger bay, towards where the Millennium Falcon was docked. Han came down the ramp and grinned when he saw his wife.  
  
"Looks like we got here about the same time." He said, giving her a hug and a kiss.  
  
"A nice change." She said, and turned as Luke and her new sister in law, Mara walked down the ramp as well. There were hellos and hugs.  
  
"How was the honeymoon?" Leia asked. Luke smiled.  
  
"Great. It was nice to be alone." He answered.  
  
"I'll bet." Leia said. Mara walked over.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hello." Leia answered. She and Mara had become quite close during the engagement.  
  
"Hey Winter." Mara said. The white hared woman nodded and smiled politely.  
  
"Does she ever change?" Mara asked.  
  
"Only around Luke and Tycho." Leia answered. "Actually, she's still very formal with Luke."  
  
Mara shrugged. "Each to his own." She smiled to herself and chuckled.  
  
"What?" Leia asked.  
  
"I'm married." Mara said, close to laughing. "To a man I hated more than anything in the world. It's kind of an oxy moron."  
  
Leia nodded. She could see the humor. Han had made more than one comment about it.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
Leva Starr sat in a small room she used for an office. She was a middle-aged woman, with short brown hair streaked with white. Her violet eyes were hard and cold.  
  
Teskel, her first mate poked his head in. "Message comin' for you." He said.  
  
"Thanks." Leva answered. When Teskel left, she pressed a button, and a small hologram popped up, showing a long time friend and partner, Wen Verris.  
  
"Hello. Long time, no see." She said. Wen nodded courteously.  
  
"It is." He agreed. "Have you got her?"  
  
"I told you I did." Leva answered. "Why?"  
  
The Twi'lek grunted. "Because I thought I had her, but that son of bantha…" he muttered to himself inaudibly for awhile, then shook himself. "My contact got the wrong one. To make it worse, my medic just said that the lady died from shock." He shook his head disgustedly.  
  
"Look at it this way." Leva commented. "You don't have to go back to return her."  
  
Wen frowned. "That's rather heartless, Leva. She had a family."  
  
"Ask me if I care." Leva narrowed her eyes. "In my opinion, you care too much."  
  
"No I don't."  
  
"Yes you do." Leva leaned back in her chair. "How many times have I had to help you? You're just not ruthless enough."  
  
"And you are far to ruthless." Wen smiled wryly. "I'm going to Smuggler's Run next. See you there?"  
  
"Maybe." Leva answered.  
  
"That's good enough for me." Wen's smile became more genuine. "I'll talk to you later. And Leva-"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Be careful." Wen's face was concerned. "This guy's like a reincarnation of Jabba the Hutt"  
  
"He never bothered me." Leva said. Wen shook his head, sighed, then cut the connection.  
  
  
  
  
  
* *  
  
  
  
Rouge Squadron leader, Wedge Antilles, walked down the corridors of the cargo ship that was carrying them home from their next mission. Captain Tycho Celchu and Lt. Corran Horn walked up behind him, engrossed in a conversation. He turned.  
  
"Corran."  
  
Corran looked up. "Hey Wedge."  
  
Wedge walked over. "I keep meaning to ask you. How's the Jedi training?"  
  
"Okay. Difficult." Corran made a face. "It's hard being the only one without telekinesis."  
  
"I'll bet." Tycho commented wryly.  
  
"You know what I mean." Corran grinned. "But I've got better mind control abilities than most of them."  
  
The three men began to walk towards the cafeteria.  
  
"How's Luke?" Wedge asked.  
  
"Don't know." Corran answered. "Haven't seen him since the wedding."  
  
"Oh, that's right." Wedge remembered. "I just got used to him staying on Yavin IV."  
  
"We all did." Tycho said. He was about to say more when the ship lurched, and they slammed into a wall.  
  
"What the-?" Wedge said. Doors on the either side of the corridor opened, and techs, mechanics, soldiers, and others looked out, apparently as confused as the rest of them.  
  
Wedge got up and quickly jogged to the control room. He entered, jumping down the stairs.  
  
"What's up?" he asked. General Morgan turned towards him.  
  
"One of the techs fell asleep." She said, annoyance and anger in her voice. Wedge glanced at the tech in question. He was really no more than a boy, and was very pale, but also very composed.  
  
"What went wrong, son?" Wedge asked.  
  
"I-I didn't set coordinates right. I was short of the mark." The young man admitted.  
  
"Yes, and what if that had sent us into a black hole or a star?" Morgan snapped. The boy winced.  
  
"Go on." She said. "I'll talk to you later." The tech stood, saluted, and left.  
  
"Rather easy on him, weren't you?" Wedge asked.  
  
"I'll send him back for more training." She said, then sighed. "They give me these kids, and expect them to act like veterans."  
  
"Yeah, know the feeling." Wedge couldn't help but grin to himself, remembering the thoughts he had had when a young Luke Skywalker had taken over the Death Star mission.  
  
"General," a Mon Cal at the sensor screen called. "We have company."  
  
"Slavers." A Duro slurred; it's red eyes glinting.  
  
"Wonderful." Morgan breathed, then turned to Wedge. "Well, General Antilles, do you think Rouge Squadron would like an exercise?"  
  
Wedge grinned. "I bet they would."  
  
  
  
* *  
  
  
  
"Capt', we've got un-friendlies." Gam said, in his strange accent. Leva turned and swore.  
  
"Do some diversionary tactics." She said. "And alert Harris. Tell him to get the fighters out there."  
  
  
  
* *  
  
  
  
"A communication, General." The Mon Cal, by the name of Erres, said.  
  
"Patch it through." Morgan told him.  
  
A woman, only a few years younger than Morgan her self appeared.  
  
"May I ask why the New Republic has attacked my ship with out reason?" she asked coldly.  
  
Morgan smiled tightly. "You're a slaver ship. Leva Starr, is it?" she glanced at the Duro, who bobbed his hairless, gray head.  
  
"And how did you come to that conclusion?" Leva asked, with an amused air.  
  
"We have several of your, uh, former merchandise aboard." Morgan answered. Leva's amused air disappeared. In its place there was a hard, steely, coldness.  
  
"Well," she said. "I have no slaves at the moment."  
  
"Nevertheless." Morgan answered. "You will have to be taken in and tried for your crimes. Slavery is illegal you know." She looked out the view port. "We could just blow your ship."  
  
Leva's face tightened. She couldn't let that happen. It wasn't her ship, really. It was Wen's, and he loved it. Wen had let her use it as a symbol of his faith in her and she wouldn't get it destroyed.  
  
"Fine." She snapped. "If I surrender, you will let my crew go, with the ship. It's not mine."  
  
"Accepted." Morgan nodded to Erres, who cut the communication.  
  
"Ms. Lith'ra." Morgan addressed a young Twi'lek female. "Please enroll the tractor beams."  
  
"Yes, sir." Lith'ra answered.  
  
  
  
* *  
  
  
  
"I want a complete scan of that ship." Morgan ordered. The two officers nodded as they unloaded the scanner. Morgan turned as General Antilles walked over.  
  
"That was a bit of fun." He commented. "You cut it pretty short, though."  
  
Morgan smiled. "I got a complete surrender. You don't get that pretty often."  
  
"Yeah, you don't." Wedge agreed. Corran came over, a strange look on his face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Wedge asked.  
  
"I don't know." Corran said. "I just feel a lot of fear and anger emanating from that ship. Confusion too."  
  
"That's only natrual." Morgan said.  
  
"Yeah, but it's a different kind of confusion." Corran shook his head, then half-closed his eyes. "I don't know. It feels like someone who has no idea where they are, who's their enemy and who's their friend, and desperatly wants to get off that ship."  
  
"Sounds like there was some slaves after all." Morgan said. "Should've known as much."  
  
  
  
* *  
  
  
  
Dorothy sat on her cot, arms wrapped protectivly around her stomach and the tiny child in her. She heard footsteps coming closer. It was like this all the time. She never knew what was going to happen. When she was younger, she hadn't minded all that much, but she hadn't had a baby inside her to worry about, nor a husband she was anxious to get back to.  
  
"Hey, someone's in here." She heard a femine voice say. "Help me with the door."  
  
"Right." Another voice, this one masculine, answered. A few minutes later the door opened and two humans looked in. They were not much older than Dorothy herself.  
  
"Oh." The girl said in surprise. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Uh, yes, I think." Dorothy answered. The girl came over, a sympathetic experssion in her deep blue eyes. The young man came over and helped Dorothy stand up.  
  
"Let's get you to a medic." He said.  
  
* *  
  
Kay Deresi and Dayvid Shadid were the two young officers who had found Dorothy. Kay looked at her.  
  
She was a very thin woman, probably from the lack of good food and carrying a baby. Her eyes were a stormy gray, and her hair was long, thick and blonde. Her face was somewhat haughty, and not what one would call pretty, but there definatly something attractive about the woman's sharp, intelligent features.  
  
"I'm Kay. And this is Dayvid."  
  
The woman looked at them and smiled. "Nice to meet you." But she didn't say anything else.  
  
* *  
  
  
  
Dorothy lay on the medical cot. It wasn't soft, but it was clean. She sighed. It was very nice to lie on something other than a mat on the floor. She rubbed her swollen belly.  
  
"Any time now." She whispered.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
Dorothy looked up, expecting to see another medic, although she had nearly had a heart attack when she had seen the creature that had examined her. This was a human, and probably an officer, juding from the uniform.  
  
"Yes?" she said.  
  
"You're, uh," he consulted a pad. "Lady Winner?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The man sat down. He had a friendly, careworn face, with honest brown eyes and dark brown hair.  
  
"We seem to be having trouble with the forms you filled out." He said. "I'm General Antilles by they way.  
  
"What's wrong with them?" Dorothy asked, a nervous tension gripping her stomach.  
  
General Antilles sighed. "Um, to put it bluntly, we've never heard of Earth, the colonlies, or frankly, anything you've put on this form. We've never heard of Lord Quatre Winner either, and judging from what else you put on this form, you're either completely insane, or you've come from a completely different place."  
  
* *  
  
Wedge walked out. Corran, Tycho, and Morgan looked expectantly at him.  
  
"She's definitely not crazy." He said. "Just talking to her, you can tell that."  
  
He sighed. "She was kidnapped, she doesn't remember how, she doesn't know why. She's a young woman, who wants to go home, hasn't seen her husband for nearly a year now, and she's scared."  
  
Corran nodded. "I picked that up."  
  
Morgan frowned. "I guess the only thing we can do is take her to Coruscant." She commented, then turned to Corran. "Do you think Master Skywalker could shed any light on the situation?"  
  
Corran shugged. "I'm thinking more along the lines of his wife. She was an Imperial agent, and we know that Grand Admiral Thrawn opened up a lot of territory in the Unknow Regoins."  
  
"True." Morgan smiled wryly. "I don't want to approach her though. She makes me nervous." The three men grinned.  
  
"Morgan," Wedge said. "She makes everyone nervous."  
  
* *  
  
The man had left, assuring her that he would do everything he could, but the nervous tension in her stomach didn't go away. Dorothy bit her lip. It wasn't as though – her thoughts trailed off as she felt something wet, then a strong contraction.  
  
"Oh, shoot!" she whipsered, looking around frantically for something that would call a nurse, doctor, anyone. Not seeing anything, she got up and looked out into the corridor.  
  
* *  
  
Wedge, Tycho, Corran, and Morgan looked up as Lady Winner left her room. The woman's face was very pale.  
  
"My water just broke." She said calmly. "And-" she hissed. "I'm getting some very strong contractions."  
  
The men, who were all fathers frowned in concern. Morgan left, to alert Dr. Tair'ka, who had taken charge of Dorothy. Wedge gently guided Lady Winner back to the cot.  
  
She was breathing hard now. "It's not fair." She gasped. "I don't want to have him now! I want Quatre to be here!" Corran and Wedge exchanged looks.  
  
"They're coming now." Corran told her.  
  
Dorothy looked at them with pain – filled eyes. "Them?"  
  
"Twins." Corran said. Dorothy was about to ask something, then was siezed with pain.  
  
"Ahh!" she cried. "I don't care if it's quintuplets. I want my husband!"  
  
"I know." Corran said soothinly, transfering as much calm and peace as he could to her frienzed mind. "But that's not possible."  
  
"I don't care." She said through clenched teeth. "I know I can't have him; that doesn't change the fact that I want him to be here!"  
  
Dr. Tair'ka entered briskly. "You can leave know." She said to the men.  
  
"No. Couldn't one stay?" Dorothy gasped. She was sweating now. Corran stepped forward.  
  
"I will." He took her hand. She gripped it. He winced. For such a thin woman, she was amazingly strong.  
  
* *  
  
Five hours later, two new lives entered the world. Dorothy named them Luke and Kayla, then names she and Quatre had agreed on. She laughed to see her beautiful new babies.  
  
"They're going to be good-looking." She said. "Like their father." She looked up at Corran, who smiled. Her face crumpled and she began to sob. Corran put an arm around her.  
  
"Come on." He said softly. "You don't want to drop the babies." Dorothy nodded, then sniffed. Two nurses came to take the twins away for clean up and inspection. Dorothy looked at Corran.  
  
"You married?" she asked. Corran nodded. Dorothy looked at the gold band on her finger. She took it off. On the inside, it read To have and to hold forever – Quatre and Dorothy, December 7. She looked at a long time, tears silently streaming down her face, then replaced it.  
  
"I'm tired." She said, weariness and tears causing her voice to crack. Corran took a hint and left the room, alerting a nurse that Dorothy needed some attention before he left.  
  
* * *  
  
Quatre had had dinner at the Wiess' and had gotten a chance to talk to Rosalind Gonzalez. The woman had deflected him everytime he had mentioned the incident that Corrine and Isaiah had mentioned and now Quatre's curiosity was aroused. He thought to himself as he walked home, forgetting that Trowa was with him. The tall pilot was equally as silent, as if he sensed the blond Arab's need to sort out his thoughts.  
  
Quatre sighed and realized something. "You know Trowa, that Dorothy would be having the baby right now."  
  
Trowa looked at Quatre solemly. "Yes, I remembered."  
  
Tears showed in Quatre's aqua eyes. "I hope she's okay." He said huskily. Trowa put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Dorothy can take of her self." He said. Quatre smiled shakily.  
  
"Of course she can." He answered, more to convince himself than to Trowa. "Of course she can."  
  
* * *  
  
A standard week later, the warship, Lady's Triumph docked on Coruscant. Unlike most ships, this one had the reception committee of the President and several officials.  
  
Leia watched as General Morgan, General Antilles, Captain Celchu and Lt. Horn alighted. She knew Morgan slightly, and knew the last three very well. However, the small, thin woman that Corran was helping walk towards them was new to her. She must be the Lady Winner they told me about. She thought.  
  
The Lady Winner definatly had breeding; one could tell that in a glance. Although she had to grip Corran's arm to walk, she still managed to carry herself with dignity and poise.  
  
The group approached the welcoming committee and Leia greeted them, and bowed to Lady Winner.  
  
"I am please to meet you, m'lady." Leia said, all of the proper court protocal from her childhood coming back.  
  
Lady Winner had let go of Corran and bowed deeply in return. "I am equally pleased to meet you, Your Highness." She said. Her voice was slightly accented, and Leia decided that she liked the way it sounded.  
  
"I understand that you are lost." Leia commented. "However, we can discuss that later. You must be tired. I have arranged some rooms close to mine for your convience."  
  
For the first time, Lady Winner looked more like a worn out girl, and less like a noble woman greeting another lady of breeding.  
  
"Thank you for your kindness." She said, softly.  
  
* * *  
  
Leia showed Dorothy into the apartments. "It'll be noisy." She said aplogetically. "But we thougth it might be better for you to stay with some people since you might not know how to work everything."  
  
Dorothy nodded. "Could I sit down, just for a moment?"  
  
"Sure." Han said. He steered her to the living room, and sat her down in one of the chairs. Dorothy nearly jumped out of it.  
  
"What is that?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, it's a conforming chair." Leia answered. "It conforms itself to best suit your body."  
  
"Oh." Dorothy sat back down again, mentally scolding her self for acting like an idiot. Just then three children ran in.  
  
"MOM!" one yelled. "The boys won't leave me alone!"  
  
"We're just trying to play to gether." The older boy protested. The girl stuck her tongue out at him. Leia sighed.  
  
"We have a guest." Liea nodded towards Dorothy. "This is the Lady Winner and I expect you children to be on your best behavior while she stays."  
  
"How long is she staying?" the older boy asked.  
  
"We don't know." Liea answered. "Why don't you say hello?"  
  
As she stood, Dorothy was confronted with three pairs of eyes, two dark brown and one ice blue.  
  
The girl stepped forward and made a pretty little curtsy.  
  
"Jaina Solo." She said. "Pleased to meet you, My Lady."  
  
"I'm pleased to meet you, Jaina."  
  
The boy made an awkard bow. "Jacen."  
  
Dorothy smiled and nodded.  
  
The youngest boy said. "I'm Anakin." He stuck out a chubby hand. Dorothy shook it. The boy solemly scrutinized her, then shook his head in approval.  
  
"Excuse me, Lady Winner." Jaina asked. "But do we have to call you that?"  
  
"No." Dorothy smiled. "You can call me Aunt Dorothy if you like, or just Dorothy."  
  
"Oh good." The girl seemed relieved.  
  
"Okay kids." Han said. "In the back. Women want to talk, and we're in the way." He herded the kids out. Dorothy sat back down again, and Liea sat across from her.  
  
"Would you mind telling me about yourself?" she asked. Dorothy shook her head, and began to talk about her husband, Duo and Hilde, and Sally and Wu Fie and Lucrezia and Millardo and their kids. She told Liea about Trowa and Sandy's wedding, Catherine's engagement, and Heero and Relena. By the time she was finished, she felt exhausted.  
  
Leia leaned back. "Wow. Quite a group!"  
  
Dorothy smiled and nodded. "Um, your highness-"  
  
"Leia".  
  
"Leia. I don't know if they told you that I've just had twins-"  
  
"Taken care of." Leia smiled. "And if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask. I've dealt with twins for twelve years now."  
  
Dorothy smiled. "Okay, I will."  
  
* * *  
  
1 year later  
  
  
  
Dorothy hummed to herself as she filed some data disks. She didn't even know what the tune was. It had been something that was played a state dinner last night, and Dorothy had like the tune.  
  
Thanks to Leia, she had gotten a job assiting Admiral Ackbar. After Dorothy had gotten over the initial shock of seeing the fish like alien, she had decided she like his dry humor and excellent tactical reasoning. Ackbar seemed to approve of her as well.  
  
"Lady Winner." He said, coming in. "There is a call for you."  
  
Dorothy stood. "Thank you sir."  
  
Ackbar bobbed his large head awkwardly and Dorothy hurried to the office's main comm unit to talk. On the screen was a very pale, thirteen year old Jaina Solo.  
  
"Oh, Aunt Dorothy!" the girl said. "I think you'd better come home quick. Luke has a high fever and Kay is crying buckets and I don't know what to do."  
  
Dorothy sighed silently to herself, knowing it would have been better to find another babysitter; but Jaina had been so anxious to help.  
  
"I can't leave work." She said. "Why don't you call your mom or Mara or Luke. Is Tionne back?"  
  
Jaina swallowed. "Mom's in a meeting; so's Dad. Aunt Mara is sick and Uncle Luke was called out for an emergency. Tionne is supposed to be back in an hour."  
  
"Do you think you can hold on for that long?" Dorothy asked. Jaina thought for a minute, then nodded, looking paler than ever.  
  
"Okay. I'll be home by 05:00, okay? I can't leave just this minute. I'll see you in a couple of hours." Dorothy said. Jaina nodded again, then cut the communication. Dorothy sighed and walked back to the small "office" she used. It was very spartan in furnishings. No window; a desk, a chair, computer, desk chrono, pager, comm, and a picture. It was one Trowa had done of Quatre when they were both much younger. Dorothy had found it folded up in the purse they had recovered from the ship that had kidnapped her. She had ironed it smooth, then framed it and hung it where she could see. Every day she took it home. When Luke or Kayla asked who it was, Dorothy would answer, "Your father."  
  
Now she looked at it. Trowa had done an excellent job; but he had always been quite good at art. The picture was pencil; Quatre was looking slightly up, as if the person he was looking at was just above him. His hair, as always, hung a little in his face, some of it caught by his goggles. His top shirt buttons were unbuttoned, and there was a dirty streak on his face; as well as one of his adorable smiles. Dorothy sighed wistfully as she looked at the picture, then at the ring which she wore.  
  
* * *  
  
Tionne sighed as she gently calmed one year old Luke down. The silver- haired Jedi than turned her attention to the sobbing Kayla.  
  
"What's wrong Kay?" she asked gently.  
  
"Mo-momma." The girl hiccuped, her gray eyes filled with tears.  
  
"Mommy will be home soon." Tionne reassured her, sending as much peace and comfort she could to the little mind. Gently, she rocked Kayla to sleep, then set her in the bed.  
  
Tionne found Jaina sitting on the couch, chin in her hands, and a shamefaced look.  
  
"I really messed up, didn't I?" she said. Tionne sat down next to her and stroked the girl's brown hair.  
  
"Not really." She said. "You just need to learn a little more; that's all."  
  
They heard the door open and both felt Dorothy's prescense before she entered the room.  
  
"How's everything?" Dorothy asked, setting some grocery bags on the small dining room table and walking to the bedroom where she kicked off the flats she was wearing.  
  
"Okay." Tionne answered, following her. "Luke has a slight fever, but I think it's because he's teething."  
  
"So this week'll be hell." Dorothy commented, quickly chaning from the skirt/jacket suit she had to a simple coverall.  
  
Tionne smiled. "Pretty much."  
  
"Mind if I ask a question?" Dorothy said, unpinning her hair.  
  
"Not at all."  
  
"How do you know so much about kids?" she continued, brushing the long thick mass.  
  
Tionne shurgged. "Who do you think takes care of all the Jedi children?" she asked. Dorothy smiled.  
  
"I see." She said, putting her hair in a ponytail. "Ever think about having any of your own?"  
  
"I would like that very much." Tionne said. "But, I am unable."  
  
"Oh." Dorothy said. There was a pause as both women went back to the living room. Jaina had left, as she had promised a friend to meet him at 05:00. The two women sat in the room.  
  
"How's Kam?" Dorothy asked. Tionne gave her a wry smile.  
  
"As serious as ever." She said, then shook her head. "He told me that he's used up his smile stock for the month." She rolled mother-of-pearl eyes. Dorothy grinned. The tall broad shouldered Jedi that Tionne had married was not known for his cheerful demeanor.  
  
"I'd better get home though." Tionne commented. Dorothy walked with her to the door.  
  
"I can babysit tommorrow." Tionne offered.  
  
"That's okay." Dorothy said. "I'm home tomorrow."  
  
"Then I'll come by in the afternoon." Tionne said. "Winter and I thought we'd take yours and Leia's children for the afternoon; give you gals some time to unwind."  
  
Dorothy smiled. "That would be nice." She admitted.  
  
* * *  
  
"So ladies," Mara Skywalker commented. "What shall we do?"  
  
Leia, Dorothy, and Mirax Horn (the wife of Corran Horn) exchanged glances. Then Mirax grinned.  
  
"The mall." She said. Luke, who was driving the landspeeder, silently groaned. Mara shot a quick look at him.  
  
"Okay." She said, then grinned. "That'll be fun."  
  
"I do have to remind you-" Luke began.  
  
"We know!" Leia cut in. "Just drop us off. We'll be fine."  
  
Luke nodded, releived.  
  
* * *  
  
"Oh, man." Mara said, eating her lunch. "Sometimes I wish I could've been a normal teenager."  
  
"Hear, Hear." Liea took a sip of her drink. "Politics didn't give me much time as a kid."  
  
"I'm afraid I can't sympathize." Mirax stated. "As it seems I've had a pretty normal upbringing."  
  
Mara snorted. "Yeah, with your dad being one of the major smugglers."  
  
Mirax gave her a wicked grin. "That's what made it so interesting."  
  
The other woman laughed. They talked of work, kids, housecleaning, and other things women talk about when alone.  
  
Mirax looked across at Dorothy. "You havn't said much."  
  
Dorothy shurgged. "Not much to say, I guess."  
  
"How's Luke, by the way?" Liea asked. "Teething is so difficult."  
  
"He was better today." Dorothy smiled. "He's going to be a pretty good kid; like his father."  
  
Mara sighed. "Babies have to be one of the most difficult things in the world."  
  
"How would you know?" Mirax asked. "You don't have any."  
  
"I have Luke." Mara joked. "And that's enough!"  
  
Liea grinned. "Come on; he's not that bad."  
  
"You're right. He's not." Mara grabbed her purse. "You guys want to walk around?"  
  
* * *  
  
The next day at work, Dorothy found the office empty. She frowned.  
  
"Admiral?" she called. An aide hurried past. Dorothy stopped him and asked where Ackbar was.  
  
"Oh, he's in one of the monitering rooms." The aide told her. Dorothy immediatley left for there.  
  
* * *  
  
"Surprise, surprise." Dorothy murmered. Luke Skywalker turned to look at her.  
  
"Didn't expect to see you here." She explained. Luke shurgged.  
  
"They called me."  
  
"And not Mara." Dorothy said. Luke winced.  
  
"They haven't gotten over the Imperial agent thing yet." He admitted. Dorothy shook her head.  
  
"Even though it was what, almost fifteen years ago now?"  
  
"Something like that."  
  
Dorothy looked at the busy, but eerily quiet room. "What's up?"  
  
"A ship came into the system, but was unable to give clearence code or ID." Luke said. "In fact, the code it did give was an outdated one, and it was Imperial."  
  
Dorothy raised an eyebrow. "That's a problem?"  
  
Luke smiled wryly. "We're at peace." He said. "As long as they stay on their side and we stay on ours."  
  
Dorothy sighed. Sounded too familiar. Ackbar caught her eye and came over.  
  
"Ah, Lady Winner, I was wondering when you would arrive." He said in his gravelly voice.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm late. A little domestic trouble." Dorothy said. Ackbar held up a flippered hand.  
  
"No need to explain." His shoulders drooped a bit; the Mon Cal equivalent of a sigh. "We're still trying to contact them. It appears there aren't that many life forms aboard; and those that are, are human. Which is only natural if they're Imperials."  
  
He handed the data pad to Dorothy who read it over quickly.  
  
"How soon can we get a line?" she asked.  
  
"Quickly I hope." Ackbar said. "It seems that they have something with a lot of firepower aboard."  
  
* * *  
  
Duo scowled, and pressed another button.  
  
"Unable to process command." The polite, vacant voice of the computer said. Duo swore, rather loudly.  
  
"Unable to process command." The computer repeated. Heero tried not to smile; Duo looked about ready to smash the machine.  
  
Wu Fie entered.  
  
"How are the others?" Heero asked.  
  
"They'll live." He answered. Sandy walked over to one of the terminals.  
  
"Still having trouble?" she asked, tucking some loose strands of red hair behind her ears.  
  
"Yes." Duo said. He absent mindedly tugged on his braid. He had cut it shorter when he and Hilde had gotten married, and then decided to grow it again.  
  
Sandy sighed. "Let me try."  
  
Heero got up and let Sandy look at it. She had always been good with machines; uncannily good. Frowning, she began to press buttons, entereing random commands. Heero bent down and together they continued to try to set up communication.  
  
* * *  
  
"We've got a hazy line coming in." one tech annoucned.  
  
"Give us a visual, if possible." Another General, Garm Bel-Iblis ordered.  
  
The tech responded, and in a few minutes, the main view screen showed a human man, but it was so cut up with static that Dorothy couldn't make out his features.  
  
"-ello?" he said. "Hello?"  
  
"Unidentified ship." Bel-Iblis' curt, refined voice said. "We are doing our best to set up a line. Do you copy?"  
  
"Loud and clear." The static disconintued and the man came into focus. Dorothy gasped. Wu Fie!  
  
* * *  
  
"Better get Relena in here." Duo murmered. Heero nodded and left the room. He returned a few minutes later, the Vice Foreign Minister in tow.  
  
"I think you're supposed to be standing where Wu Fie is." Sandy said. Relena nodded, and Wu Fie made room for her.  
  
"Got it!" Sandy said happily. The view screen stopped showing the glowing planet and it's traffic and showed instead a busy room with several humans, and what definitely were not human.  
  
"Oh my –" Duo began. Sandy nudged him hard.  
  
"Quiet." She hissed. Duo stuck his tongue out at her.  
  
* * *  
  
"Master Skywalker?" Ackbar said. Luke realized that he was wanted to adress the speaker. He frowned, wishing Leia, or even Mara were here.  
  
He stepped forward, not quite sure what to say. He was saved as the dark, thin man was replaced with a slender young woman with long dark blonde hair and blue eyes.  
  
"Hello." She said. "Are you in charge here?"  
  
"Not really." Luke admitted. "Having trouble with your comm?"  
  
"Comm? Oh, actually yes. In fact, we're having trouble with the entire ship."  
  
"I can understand; it's an old make." Luke commented. The woman's eyes lit up.  
  
"Oh, so you could tell us what-" she broke off and turned, looking at something behind her. "Don't be silly, Duo." She turned around again. "Sorry."  
  
"Umm," Luke looked a little nervously at the Admiral. Dorothy stepped forward, so she could be seen as well. The woman in the view screen paled.  
  
"Dorothy!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Relena." Dorothy said. "Is Quatre with you?"  
  
"Yes. But," Relena bit her lip. "He's not exactly concious right now."  
  
"What do you mean?" Dorothy asked.  
  
Relena sighed. "Listen, we need to land. Sandy just told me we're almost out of fuel."  
  
Dorothy turned to Ackbar. "I can assure you they are not Imperial. And that they are completely trustworthy."  
  
Ackbar and Bel-Iblis looked at Luke, who shook his head. "The woman feels all right to me."  
  
Ackbar nodded to Dorothy.  
  
"Don't worry." She said to Relena. "We'll get you down here."  
  
* * *  
  
Relena sighed with releif as the communication was cut. She wondered about that little episode; the blonde man saying that she was "all right." What was he? She wondered.  
  
Duo sighed as he looked at the console. "Man, these wires are just about fried."  
  
"Maybe-" Sandy began, but was cut off by a sharp jolt. The ship had suddenly lunged forward. There were several explosions, and the lights died.  
  
"Aw, shoot." Duo commented into the complete darkness.  
  
"I could think of something stronger." Sandy said wryly. Relena carefully picked herself up.  
  
"Anybody happen to have a flash light or something?" she asked. "I should check on our 'wounded'."  
  
"I've got one." Sandy said, turning on a little key chain one. She walked over to Relena and the two woman left.  
  
"And what are we supposed to do?" Duo asked. "Just sit here?"  
  
"Apprently." Heero said.  
  
Inu-washa: cool story, rite?  
  
Rei:it's all rite. Jordo: review !!!!!!!!! 


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